Strategic Analysis of Blockchain Technology to Facilitate the KYC for the Social Security Organization Costumers Based on Actor-Network Theory

Abstract

Purpose: The most crucial challenge that important insurance organizations including the Social Security Organization face is the Know Your Customer (KYC) challenge. The present research emphasized the Know Your Customer process, besides, the accuracy of input and output data of the concerning organization considering the task-based nature of the organization. The present research described the importance of the KYC process in an organization, especially in the Social Security Organization in Iran. Therefore, it proposed Blockchain technology as a facilitator of this process.Methods: This is qualitative research. It was carried out based on actor-network theory. Following the grounded theory, the perception of the interviewed participants was analyzed concerning the manner, causes, strategies, basis, and consequences of the application of Blockchain technology in an organization. Due to the temporal and spatial limitations of the research and to improve its qualitative value, the Social Security Organization, which is a social insurance company, was selected together with another important state organization as a case study. The data were collected through complete observation and semi-structured interviews. The target population included professional experts and the heads of the Social Security Organization plus experts in the field of Blockchain. The snowball sampling was continued to obtain adequate theoretical saturation (n=30 experts).Findings: The process of implementing and replacing this technology with the current system encountered several intervening factors such as the management, adjustment of human resources, financial resources, extra-organizational actors, and organizational culture. These factors should be taken into considerable consideration in the process of application of the technology.Conclusions: Blockchain technology (as the main network in the actor-network approach) enjoys unique features that can provide a desirable condition to verify the accuracy of the input and output data of the organization, especially in the field of the KYC process. The extra-organizational actors, which do not operate under the control of the organization, are quite effective when developing this approach. Utilizing smart contracts (as the actor-network theory connectors) and replacing them with the current contract systems used in organizations are among the important applications of this technology. The unique features of Blockchain technology can cause considerable changes in the process of KYC. These changes are often positive and carried out to reduce the risk of fraud, clarify the flaw of information, reduce the concentration, and increase the speed of rendering services and De-bureaucracy. However, they present the organization with challenges such as concerns for developing integrity, cost of establishment, the difficulty of modification of the input information, and the time-consuming nature of educating customers.

Keywords

•  blockchain
• smart contracts
• know your customer (kyc)
• iranian social security organization
• actor-network theory (ant)